Q: Do you expect Kyle Orton to be back in Denver next season? If not, where do you expect him to go? I can see possibly the Vikings trying to trade for him or any of the teams that are looking for a new quarterback.

A: Lucas, I would not expect Orton back by the time the 2011 season begins.

He has already been benched. And though the Broncos and Orton have disagreed on the semantics about what was said — Orton said he was told Tim Tebow would start the final two games, and interim head coach Eric Studesville said he wasn’t looking beyond this week when he said Tebow would start against the Texans — Tebow is certainly expected to start the final two games.

And Orton said this week that although he is signed through 2011 with the Broncos, if he were to return to the team next season, it would be with the understanding he was again the starter.

With Tebow’s contract almost fully guaranteed — all but $567,500 of the $9.713 million deal is guaranteed — through 2014, it’s not likely Orton would receive that kind of assurance from the new coaching staff, unless the new coach simply didn’t believe Tebow could be a long-term starter in the league.

There also is the fact that the Broncos have just six picks in the 2011 draft and exponentially more needs than that to fill. They have their own first-rounder, two picks in the second round, a third-round pick and two sixth-round picks.

That’s not nearly enough and shows just how bare the cupboard is at the moment. And Orton would be one of a thin roster’s most valuable assets in a trade.

Whatever folks here think of Orton, the feeling among many in the league is that he is more than capable of running an offense on a team with a better roster than the Broncos have had over the last two years.

He could secure the Broncos some much-needed picks in the draft, and that is the most likely scenario at the moment.

There also is the matter of what pick the Broncos have. Because if they end up No. 1 overall in the draft — and they would if the Panthers win their season finale and the Broncos lose their last two games — and Stanford’s Andrew Luck comes out, any team with the No. 1 pick has to take him.

Yes, that would be a rather huge admission that Tebow may not be the franchise quarterback they’d hoped, but if a team gets a No. 1 pick and a player like Luck is available, you have to take him, no exceptions.

Many scouts have already privately said Luck would be a more highly rated prospect in this draft than Sam Bradford was last spring, and Bradford has started every game this season and is almost certainly on track to be the league’s offensive rookie of the year.

That would put even Tebow in a position to have to fight it out. If the Broncos win one of their last two games, they likely don’t get a shot at Luck and will then have to hope Tebow can advance his game for the new regime.

Certainly the Vikings, Cardinals, Titans, 49ers and Seahawks are just the start of a list of those teams that will be searching for quarterback help this offseason, and all could be potential suitors for Orton. With so many potential coaching changes still to come, some others may be looking to retool as well.

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